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Table questions can be a difficult aspect of the IELTS Listening test. You have to listen to a recording and complete a table using the information you hear. There is though a lot you can do to help yourself before you listen to the recording. Looking at the information available (using headings and the existing information in a table), you should be able to predict what will be required to complete the gaps in a table. What follows are some tips on how to approach completing tables.

Aim: This section will help you to answer 'Table-completion' questions better by showing you how to look for clues.

Problems: Many candidates don't look for clues in the question paper before they listen.

Look at the table below:

Questions 1 to 6 - Richard and Lindsay are at a second-hand bookstore looking for travel books to plan their round-the-world trip.

Countries covered

Title

Price

………….(1)…………

Travels through the Andes

$12.99

Belgium, Luxembourg & Holland

………….(2)………….

………….(3)………….

North American continent

Canada & The U.S.: A traveler's guide

………….(4)………….

………….(5)………….

Traveling in the Baltic states

………….(6)………….

Tip: If you look at the existing information in the table, you will be able to predict possible answers quite easily.

Questions 1 and 5

In the example above, the first two columns are related; therefore you can predict questions 1 & 5 by looking at the titles in the 'Title' column - depending on how good your geography is:

With the second column you have lots of clues with the other titles, BUT… be careful! The people who write the test often make it look too easy for you to guess with some questions and this is a good example. There is the word 'travel' in all of the other titles and the listening is about people buying travel books, so you will automatically expect the word 'travel' to appear in the answer to question 2. It might, but it probably won't - because it is too easy; the title will be something to do with traveling, but it might be worded differently. Be very careful of questions like these because you can miss an easy answer.

Questions 3, 4 & 6

The third column is concerned with numbers (see 'Useful hints for numbers'). The numbers are all book prices so they will probably contain 3 or 4 figures - somewhere between $1.00 & $99.99; it is unlikely that any books will be more expensive. There will be traps set for you by the people who write the test; usually this is done by mixing up numbers in the 'teen' range (e.g.: fourteen) and multiples of ten (e.g. forty). These numbers sound very similar with the long /I:/ and short /I/ sounds respectively. Also, the speakers on the tape might change their minds so that the first number you hear isn't the correct one (see 'Listening: How can I answer True/False questions better').

Practice

Have a go predicting what the answers might be in the following table:

Questions 1 to 6 - Peter & Amy are at a clothing warehouse looking for material for the university Drama Club's annual play.